It's So Hard to Love You: MartinAviva OneShots
by Bellatrix-Everdeen
Summary: This is a collection of one-shots detailing the unseen moments between Martin and Aviva. Martin/Aviva fanfic. There will be anger, sadness, fear, hope, worry, funny moments, and love. Each chapter is unique.
1. Fireflies

The night is pitch-black, and so is the room I've crept into. I have a flashlight in each hand. Everyone else has been sleeping-including the brother I've stolen the green flashlight from. I smile to myself. Time to have a little fun.

_Blink blink. Bliiiink. Blink blink blink,_ goes the flashlight in my right hand. I modify the pattern a bit for my left. This continues as a flashy conversation.

"What are you doing?"

The lights of the control room are on in an instant. As casually as I can under the circumstances, I hurl the flashlight in my right hand across the room.

"Flashing," I say.

Aviva rolls her eyes. "Riiiiiiight." She then walks towards me, her face getting that strange twist it gets when she's either getting into techno mode or she's scared out of her mind. "Hey, look at this, will you?"

She tugs a tiny silver chip about the size of my thumbnail from her coat pocket. The smile on her face is unmistakably Aviva. The flash pattern of the fireflies Chris and I had rescued earlier begins to dance across my thoughts. Don't ask me why.

"Hold up your arm," Aviva says.

She plugs the tiny thing into my video watch. It makes a strange flash, and all of a sudden I'm staring at my brother and I, flying about like a couple of complete morons.

"How did you get this?" I ask.

Aviva smiles again and takes the chip out. "Your video watches have been filming you." The smile on her face fades slightly and she begins to gently tap her fingers on her leg, the way she does when she's nervous about something she's done. I pay no mind.

"How much is on there?" I ask. _Blink blink bliiiiiink,_ goes my mind.

The question seems to startle her, but, being Aviva, she keeps her cool as best as she can. "Oh, just a few minutes of you and Chris being the idiots you are." I elbow her playfully. She laughs a little, and I don't even notice that she's tapping even faster now.

"How much can it hold?" I ask.

"100 gigs," Aviva says proudly. The pride on her face quickly fades, and she looks like she wants to kick herself.

"Riiiiiiight," I say, mocking her.

"Don't push it," she hisses. I can hardly suppress a laugh. She's repeated that line to me so many times I can hardly count. It's only now that I notice the finger-tapping.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I ask, sitting in one of those cool chairs that roll around.

Aviva looks like she's just been slapped. "Why do you ask?"

I give her my "are-you-seriously-trying-to-lie-to-me" look. "You've been tapping."

Aviva looks at the wall behind me as she pulls up another roll-y chair. "No, I haven't."

I raise an eyebrow. "Yes, you have."

"No, I haven't!" Aviva glares at me.

_Blink blink blink._

I roll my eyes. "Look, you're one of my best friends and all, but you don't know what you're talking about."

Aviva's glare could have killed me right then. "Since when don't I know what I'm talking about?"

I shrug. "Okay, 'Viva. Have it your way."

"Thank you." Aviva's expression has gone smug. I can't help but notice how pretty she looks in the limited light. I look away. What is _wrong_ with me? I look back at her. I must be getting tired.

"It's getting kind of late." Aviva echoes my thoughts.

"Yeah." I'm about to leave when a crazy thought crosses my mind. I look down. Would that be taking too much of a risk? I shuffle my feet and look back up at Aviva. I sure hope it isn't.

"Um, 'Viva?" _Blink blink._

"Yeah?"

"Follow me." _Bliiiiiink blink blink._

Aviva gives me a confused look. "Um…okay, Martin. Whatever you say."

_Blink. Blink. Blink._

In an instant we're just outside the _Tortuga_, in the pitch-black night. Well, it was pitch-black before we saw all of the fireflies. There are even more than I can remember from earlier tonight. Their flash pattern is synchronized. I turn to Aviva, whose face is lit by the dim glow. Her eyes are shining as she looks out into the night.

"Wow," she whispers.

I smile. It _is _really pretty out here. We sit down and watch the fireflies flash to one another for what seems like hours. _Blink bliiink blink blink. Bliiiink blink._ Then I notice a particular patch of grass, and I turn to Aviva to say something I should have said earlier.

"Aviva?"

She turns to me, smiling, her hair blowing gently in the breeze. "What?"

I look back at the grass. "I just realized I never really thanked you for saving me from that other firefly, you know, when he tried to eat me.

Aviva lets out a giggle. "I saved your life, didn't I?"

I blush. "Yeah. Thanks for that."

Aviva smiles softly. "You're welcome."

We sit out there for a little while longer. Then, by some unspoken agreement, we return to the _Tortuga_.

"'Night, Aviva," I say. Aviva looks away for a moment, taps her fingers three more times, then gives me a very tight hug.

"Goodnight, Martin." She breaks the embrace and walks down into the halls.

I stand in the control room, immobile, for a few more seconds. Then I go into the room Chris and I share, lay down, and somewhere find sleep.


	2. Nightmares

_POV: Chris_

"Nnnn…no…"

I'm awoken by Martin's sleeptalking. Again. He's grabbing at the air, his eyes are clenched shut, his face is twisted into a frown. I let out a quiet groan. What is it this time?

"Martin…" I whisper, putting my pillow over my head. "Whatever it is, you're _dreaming._ Get some sleep." He pays no mind, letting out a tiny squeal of despair. I sit up groggily and stare at my brother, who has begun to sweat very hard, even though the room isn't all that hot. He's breathing very hard.

I go over to his bed. "Martin!" I whisper loudly. Within an instant, Martin sits bolt upright, and tackles me, sobbing.

"Chris! Chris, no…it can't happen…it can't!"

I've never seen Martin like this before. I struggle out from underneath him and look at him from above, only to have him stand and grab onto me.

"She's dead, bro…_dead_…some _thing _killed her…I…I can't…" He breaks down in tears again.

I know who he's talking about in an instant. "Come on, bro, Aviva's not dead. She wouldn't die without letting either of us know first." I sit down on my bed as best I can with a 200-pound Martin hanging onto me. "It was a _dream. _Aviva's fine."

I can tell I've only partly convinced Martin. Right about then, there's a gentle tapping outside the door. Martin keeps on sobbing. I sigh. This could take a while.

"Martin. _Aviva isn't dead_. You'll see her again in the morning. I promise. I can even go check to see if she's alive right now, if that's what you need. But Aviva is alive! You can sleep now!"

This seems to get to him. He sits on the end of my bed and stares at his shoes.

"No…it's fine, bro. I…I guess I'll see in the morning." He goes over to his bed and lays down, his eyes wide open, tears struggling not to come out. I lay back down again and close my eyes. Aviva's alive, all right. I can hear the footsteps outside the door.

_POV: Koki_

When I hear the scream, my first thought is that Zach Varmitech has broken into the _Tortuga_ and brought an ostrich with him.

Wait…that's not right. If that were true, I'd have heard Zach laughing maniacally by now. The screams are coming from the next room. I narrow my eyes as I sit up sleepily. Aviva's not usually one to have nightmares.

"…'Viva?" I enter my friend's room. She's curled into a fetal position, eyes clenched tight, letting out desolate screams at random moments. I can begin to hear words.

"No…NO! I won't let you! You can't…you can't…" She lets out another scream. "NO!"

"Aviva!" I run over to her bed and start shaking her. "Wake up! It's just a dream! There's nothing to be afraid of!"

Aviva's eyes shoot open. She looks as though she's just seen a ghost and is about to burst into tears over it. She sits up in bed and looks into my face.

"Koki! It…it was horrible…they…they…he was…" She's spitting out words, her eyes wide, her hair tangled, her face soaked with sweat.

"Aviva, you're a mess. What on earth did you dream about?" I look at her with extreme concern.

"It was…I mean…I have to…he can't…" She gives me a scared look, then jumps to her feet and pulls me out of the room with her. I'm too tired and confused to protest as she drags me across the halls until we are at the Kratt brother's door.

"Aviva, _what_ is going on?" I ask. Aviva doesn't respond. Instead she looks at the door, breathing very hard. She then touches her ear up against it. Confused, I do the same. All I hear is someone-is that _Martin?_-crying his eyes out and Chris letting out a low groan. Relief floods Aviva's face, and she stands, relaxing, a sigh escaping her mouth. I stand and dust myself off.

"There we go, 'Viva. You look fine now. But…why are we here? What did you dream about?"

Aviva looks like I've just asked her the scariest question in the world. She looks down at her feet, her face unusually shy.

"Nothing," she whispers. "Nothing important."


	3. Waiting

**A/N: Oh my gosh, thank you, readers, for all the great reviews! You guys are the best! In case you didn't catch the hints, the first chapter takes place right after the episode "Fireflies". This chapter takes place during "Koala Balloon", and the POV is Aviva's. Please keep reading and reviewing! It's what keeps me going! ;)**

**Disclaimer (for the first two chapters as well): I do not own Wild Kratts.**

It's been ten freaking minutes, and I already think the worry is going to kill me.

I stare at the walls of the _Tortuga_ blankly. What were those idiots _thinking?_ The Australian outback is hard enough on its own. For two incredibly strange men, one of which has zero sense of organization, it's the equivalent of trying to breathe water with no added technology. I sigh. It's going to be a long day.

I'm mostly worried about Martin. For all the years I've known him, the guy still makes no sense to me. Why did he pack his freaking bag like _this?_ Why couldn't he have done it where it wouldn't take him an hour to find anything? The guy's crazy, I tell you. _Crazy_. But there's nothing I can do about it. So why am I so worried?

"Aviva?" Koki has approached me from behind. I don't turn around.

"Yeah?"

"What's up? You're acting like someone just hijacked the _Tortuga_."

I look down. "Sorry. I'm just so worried about the guys."

Koki sighs. "Aviva, if anyone can do it, it's them. These guys are wildlife adventurers, for Pete's sake! They could die every mission, but they get through."

"That's because they have the technology to help them!"

Koki pats my shoulder. "Loosen up. It'll be fine." She goes to motivate Jimmy Z to fly faster. I know I probably have work to do, but I'm too freaked out to do it. Why did I let them go out alone? I should have gone with them! Or at least snuck _some_ form of technology into Martin's bag. With all the stuff he'd managed to fit in there, he wouldn't find the things until he absolutely needed them. I sigh. This isn't going to get me anywhere. So I go to take a much-needed nap.

Did I say nap? I lied. I end up just laying down, contemplating why I can't get any sleep.

I'm not half as worried about Chris as I am Martin. Like I said before, the guy's insane. But Chris is crazy too. Maybe I'm not as worried about him because he's more likely to survive the night. He knows a little more about how to make everything work together. Martin's a little more…how do I put this…odd. There's a reason I usually put Chris in charge. Martin would get us all killed if he had the run of the place. But that's not what I'm afraid of. I'm afraid Martin will be the one to get _himself _killed.

What is _wrong_ with you, Aviva? Why can't you just accept that it's all going to turn out fine? Wait…I've already accepted that. It'll turn out fine…for _Chris_. But what about Martin? Will he even survive the night? I don't even understand what I'm telling myself. Chris has as much chance of surviving the night as Martin does. So why am I not as worried about him?

Jimmy has finally started to fly faster. I feel the _Tortuga_ touch down on land. I don't feel like getting up to see our surroundings. That'll just scare me more. What if Martin-excuse me, the brothers-never make it here? So I just stay where I am, even though I should be working.

"Hey, 'Viva. We've landed. The forest is really pretty. Come out to see it with us!"

Koki is at my door, looking at my immobile frame. I sit up on my bed but can't find the will to stand. I look at Koki. Maybe I could talk to her.

"Koki…" I cringe. I hate admitting this. "…I'm scared."

Koki sighs and sits next to me. "Aviva, it'll be okay…"

"But I'm not scared for them both!" I say, giving Koki a desperate look. "It's…it's Martin. I'm afraid he won't live to see us again. I mean, I'm scared for Chris too, but not as much as I'm scared for Martin!" I tap my fingers on my leg. "But they're both my best friends…I love the guys equally. I just can't…"

Koki gives me a sympathetic look. "Aviva, let me tell you something. This might be kind of weird to think about, but I think you need to know."

I give Koki a look. "Who are you, my mom?"

Koki grins feebly. "Have you ever noticed that you tend to give Martin…special attention?"

"I do not!"

Koki sighs. "Remember Seven the octopus?"

I nod.

"You made Chris the decoy when you needed to get the Creature Power suits back. You were putting him at a much higher risk of death than Martin. You _know_ Martin's the better swimmer. He had a much better chance of survival than Chris. If he were the decoy, you would have divided the plan much more evenly."

"I couldn't put him at that kind of risk!"

"But you could put Chris."

I look down as I realize that Koki is right. Koki pats my shoulder and leaves. I keep staring at the ground. I do not like Martin differently. I do not have a crush on him. I do not, in any way, feel more for Martin than I do for Chris. Or do I? No, I don't. I can't. I won't. I sigh, feeling defeated. All I have now is myself, and that's just waiting for an answer.

**A/N: Ugh, short chapter! The next one will be much better, I promise! I'm sorry if I made either of the girls too OOC. I'll definitely work on that! See you next chapter!**


	4. Flowers

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wild Kratts.**

Two. Two beautiful, lavender roses lay on the small side-table where I keep my supplies. The thorns have been cut off. I smile at them sleepily. I didn't even know roses could _be _this color. What a perfect way to start another day of being Aviva.

I pick them up to get a better look. They're pretty, delicate things. I wonder to myself, who gave them to me? Usually if anyone steps into my room while I'm asleep and not dreaming I wake up and throw a notebook at them. Whoever this was must have been very, very careful. All of a sudden, I get an idea. I grab some scissors from the side-table-yes, I keep scissors by my bed-and snip about two-thirds of the stem of one rose. The other I set back down. I affix the shortened flower in my hair. Time to have a little fun with whoever gave me these.

I enter the control room and the first thing I see is Koki, up early as usual. I smile. I'd thought I was an early riser before I met Koki. She's tapping quickly on the giant computer slash GPS slash tracking device. I always find it funny that, even though I invented it, I don't even have a name for it. I approach Koki from behind and tap her gently on the shoulder.

"Morning, Aviva," she says, not looking up from her work.

"Morning, Koki." I walk to her other side. "What are you working on?"

"Just re-programming the global positioning system so that it'll be suited for the next time zone once we get to Africa." She looks up at me, and her eyes fly to the rose. "Whoa, 'Viva! Nice flower."

I smile at her. "Thanks. I came across a couple next to my bed this morning." I raise a single eyebrow. Koki laughs.

"Whoever gave this to you got into your room without you going crazy?"

I shrug. "Apparently."

Koki laughs again. "Ah, that's great, 'Viva. Hey, could you do me a favor and wake the guys up? We need Jimmy to drive the _Tortuga_ if we want to get to Africa by tonight, and I need to ask the brothers about precisely where we should land."

I grin. "Yeah, I need to talk to them too. I'm on it." I tap a little on my giant computer slash communications device slash invention helper until I can see the brothers, sound asleep, through their Creaturepods. I giggle. This'll be fun.

"Rise and shine, guys!" I say loudly. They both jump at least eight feet into the air, and Martin falls out of bed. Koki and I laugh. I knew this would be good. I zap out from their 'pods and go to wake Jimmy Z. Once you know the secret, it's easy to wake him up. All you really have to do is open the ever-present box of pizza, and he's up. I return to the control room and get started on my work. The brothers are in the room three minutes later, looking disheveled and sleepy

"Did you have to wake us up like that, Aviva?" asks Martin. His eyes find the rose. They widen, and he quickly looks away, his face first paling and then blushing a prominent crimson. Chris gives his brother a confused look and then approaches Koki. Martin hesitates and then follows, his eyes occasionally flashing back to the rose. It's a moment before I realize that my face is hot and I am holding my breath.

I quickly turn back to my work analyzing the muscular power of the average anaconda. It's a pretty fascinating study, but I can't keep my mind on it. Koki's and the brothers' voices alternate in the background. All I can think about is the warm, tingling sensation throughout my body. And, for now, that is all there is in the world.

"Aviva? Aviva!"

A dark brown hand waves in front of my eyes. I'm so surprised that I jump about fifty feet and turn to see both of the brothers and Koki, their faces slightly concerned and confused.

"_Hola, ¿cómo puedo ayudarle? Estoy bien, sólo el análisis de los músculos de la serpiente!_" I choke out.

The brothers and Koki stare at me with ever-growing confusion. I blush and look down. Was I seriously just speaking Spanish?!

"I mean…hi, let me talk to the guys."

Koki shrugs and gets back to her work. I regain my composure and pull out another segment of research I've been doing for about three months now.

"Okay, guys. I'm working on a Creaturepod update that will help lengthen the communication range. I'll just need to synchronize it to the software, so I need your Creaturepods."

The brothers hand me their Creaturepods, and I plug them into the software.

"The update will take about ten minutes. You guys can get to work, I'll call you back when it's ready."

"Okay," says Chris, who leaves quickly. Martin hesitates, then looks back at me.

"Sounds good. Oh, and, um, by the way, um, nice rose."

I look down at my feet, then my eyes find Martin's shoes. I snap my head back up and try to act confident.

"Thanks. I found some in my room this morning…I think someone gave them to me."

Martin's face flashes red again, but he keeps cool and raises his eyebrows slightly. "Really? That's nice."

I smile. "I know! I had no idea roses could be purple."

Martin smiles back. "It's pretty rare for them to be that shade, but it's possible."

I feel my face warm up a little. "Wow. I wonder who gave these to me."

"I have no idea," says Martin, a little too quickly.

"Same here." I hear the beeping of the Creaturepods. "Wow, it's done already? That was fast." I give Martin back his Creaturepod and go to find Chris, pretending that I don't even notice the thorn in Martin's shoelace.

**A/N: Wow that was a weird chapter. The next one will be better! Please keep reviewing! You guys are awesome! :)**


	5. Sorry!

**Okay, guys. I'm not dead. I'm just like all of you-I have school, family matters, extracurricular activities, and I get writer's block. I love you guys and I'm glad you love this so much, and it will be continued. It just might take me a while to get the next chapter up. If you guys could please be patient with me, I promise the next chapter will be up soon. Forgive me if it takes a long time, I'm sorry. I'm just not a fast writer.**

**Love y'all. Sorry if I was harsh.**

**:)**


	6. Forgiveness

It would have been a much sunnier, nicer day had Aviva not locked us inside the invention garage to yell at me about my latest mistake.

"Don't say _anything!_" She paces back and forth, shooting me the occasional glare that said all the words my mother would die if she heard out loud. "I asked you to do _one thing_, Martin! But you go out and _wreck_ the attachment!" She sighs. "This is becoming routine. But this time, Chris wasn't involved! Only one half of trouble was needed to mess up my work this time!"

"I'm sorry!" These words don't even sound real anymore; I've said them so many times.

"That isn't helping!" Aviva stops pacing and shoots me a fierce stare. "I would have been fine with you _testing_ it, so long as I was nearby to make sure you didn't get it _smashed_." Her not-so-subtle implication stings. "But then you _lie_ to me…"

"Well," I say timidly, "it wasn't exactly a lie…"

"You said you were searching for the last ivory-billed woodpecker!" Aviva's voice is so scary that I decide not to protest. "And I'm like, sure, I'm okay with that, but I wasn't expecting you to _steal_ the attachment!" Her eyes won't leave me for a second. "And I wasn't expecting you to actually find an ivory-bill!"

"That was a downy woodpecker!" I say indignantly. "Come on, Aviva, downy doesn't even sound like ivory-billed!"

"Downy, ivory-billed, I DON"T CARE!" Aviva thunders. "It turned my attachment chip into a beak kabob!" She opens her mouth to say something else, then closes it and begins pacing again, while I stare up at her, dumbfounded. It's as though she has changed herself, the nice girl who made all these mechanical devices that surround us and have saved us a multitude of times, into a fierce leopard, preying upon those who destroy what she had worked so hard to achieve. I guess I'm her next victim.

Aviva lets out an exasperated sigh. "What did you need an emotional scan chip for, anyway?"

I jump a tiny bit and stumble to make words form in my mouth. "Iduno."

Aviva looks at me quizzically. "What?"

I take a deep breath. "I don't know. It just looked so…" I search for an adjective. "…pitiful." I register my words a second too late, and Aviva's eyes go from angry to infuriated.

"_Pitiful?_" she hisses, backing me up against the wall.

"No!" I say quickly. "No, I meant _prettyful_!"

Aviva's mask of rage turns to one of confusion.

"Um…" I say. "I meant _beautiful_." I nod rapidly. "Yeah, beautiful! It was so beautiful, I just _had_ to test it out, see?" I give her my cutesy eyes, hoping she'll calm down.

Once again, my efforts are futile. Aviva growls deep in her throat and pushes her finger hard onto my chest. "That doesn't fix the problem!" she yelled. "I don't care how beautiful my chip was-"

"It really was," I say.

"Whatever. I don't care how beautiful my chip was, YOU STILL DESTROYED IT!"

I take this tiny moment to look Aviva over. Aviva, if you begin with what you could see, was easily one of the prettiest girls I'd ever seen. She had dark, shining hair, messily pulled back to keep it out of her pale brown face, yet a tiny piece still lingered beside her expressive, grey-brown eyes. On the inside, she was kind, loyal, honest, generous, giggly, magical. Yet she had a fiery side to her that was impossible to ignore. Especially when she was screaming at you inside an invention garage. Speaking of inventions, she was smart. Really smart. She proved to me that, even if you're a nerd, you can still be prettyful…no. Beautiful. Yes, that's the perfect word for her…beautiful.

This flashes through my head in a half second, and I come back to reality, taking it all in, seeing her glare, her finger digging into my chest, her anger flying at me and zigzagging across the room, and she's so beautiful right now I can hardly breathe.

So I make the biggest mistake of my life and kiss her.

At first I can barely tell what I'm doing. Then I feel her hair gently brushing my face, my lips on hers, and my eyes close. I can tell that she's surprised, and I feel victory erupt inside of me as she accepts, her hands grasping at my arms, my back, and I'm so happy right now I could die.

Gently, I break the kiss so that I can look at her again. Her breath is shallow, her eyes are still closed, and her hands have slipped into mine. She opens her eyes a little wider than usual, and looks up at me, shocked.

"Apology accepted," she whispers.

Then she turns, and walks dazedly to the door. She looks at me over her shoulder for a few seconds, and then leaves the invention garage. I'm alone, and I fall back against the wall, reveling in my delight, and I focus on breathing.


	7. Perspective

_POV: Martin_

She's out on the edge of a limb, staring into the rainforest. I can feel her eyes catch mine, and then I feel the confusion begin to stream off of her. But I can't look away, even with her calling my name questioningly. I try, believe me I do. But it's as though I have no control of my eyes-or my brain. Instantly, it's as though I'm possessed by her beauty. And no matter how hard I try not to stare, she's taken me over. I'm hers now. I hope she doesn't mind.

_POV: Aviva_

He's watching me as I sit on the tree branch, not too far from the _Tortuga_. I don't care. He has beautiful blue eyes that remind me of the day we spent underwater, me and him and Chris. And, of course, I took every opportunity to tease him. Well, Chris too, but he was an afterthought. I love both of the bros, but Martin is just…special. I've never been sure why. I didn't talk much in school. Kids knew me as "that science geek". I was the outcast. As a result, I didn't pick up on social cues very well. So I don't understand why Martin is staring at me like an owl. So I call his name quietly, but he seems mesmerized. Too bad, because so am I.

_ POV: Martin_

Now reality comes back to me. I feel my breath catch, and there she is. Aviva. My friend slash personal tech support. All of a sudden I'm right beside her, sitting on the branch, my feet dangling below me, and I'm not sure how I got there. I just know that it feels good. Really good.

_POV: Aviva_

Now he's beside me, smiling, looking out to the neighboring trees. I can scarcely breathe. My heart is pounding harder than an avalanche coming down a mountain. My head is in a thousand different places. My face is hot, but not from the humidity. I've felt this before, but usually it's because I'm scared to death. But there was that one time, when Chris was lost, and Martin had grabbed my shoulders and said "This mission is going BEE-serk!" Now I remember. I felt this feeling then. Maybe it's something everyone feels sometime, maybe it's a natural response to touch, or maybe it only happens to bizarre nerdy girls who spent too much time trying to clone lizards and not enough time at the mall like a normal girl. But I don't care who it happens to. I feel like I'm on top of the world, and I never want it to stop.

_POV: Chris_

They're on a tree branch. They're not talking, just sitting and smiling. I sigh. I admit, it's sort of cute. You can tell that they're both totally in love and both totally oblivious. Coming from a guy whose last crush was on a bird of paradise, it's pretty obvious how they're feeling. Even if they don't see it themselves. So I stifle a grin and stare up at the sky through the forest canopy. Zach's jet is long gone-he was trying to cut down the trees, for creature's sake!-but there's still a little smoke lingering. Why I notice, I don't know. So I look back at my brother. He looks serene. Peaceful. And wholeheartedly confused. But then again…maybe we all are.

_POV: Jimmy Z_

I don't get it. Aviva wasn't in the main room when I called for her, and so I thought, OK, she must be outside. So I go outside, you know, so she can help me with my teleporter attachment I designed, and she's up a tree, Martin's next to her, and they're just…sitting there. Why they're not talking, I don't know. Why Martin's not making stupid jokes, I don't know. Mostly it's Aviva confusing me, though. She's usually, like, CRAZY attentive to her work and if anyone comes up to her while she's inventing, she's all WHAT THE HECK DO YOU WANT?! Well, that's what she does to me. So I'd expect her to be at least lecturing him. But she's not, she's just sitting there with some dumb smile on her face.

Ugh. Girls are _so _weird.

_POV: Koki_

Ha, I knew this would happen. From the day we set out on our first creature adventure, I knew. Martin was following Aviva around like a puppy, and she didn't seem too bothered by it. In fact, I swear she was trying not to smile. But, I mean, look at them now. It's amazing they haven't figured it out by now. Aviva thinks she knows everything? Try telling her about love, and she gets all mixed up. I'd have thought she'd have noticed by now that Martin's _crazy_ for her! And, knowing Martin, it's pretty obvious how he feels. But that boy doesn't get it either! Aviva's just about as wild about him as he is about her, and neither of them have noticed yet! Ah, but it'll happen one day. I admit, they're sorta cute together.

_POV: Aviva_

I want to freeze this moment in time and stay here forever.

_POV: Martin_

I think I just might love her.


	8. Valentine

I found it on her desk.

It was hidden under a bunch of thousand-page-thick books. The books didn't surprise me, Aviva always had books that thick laying around. Why, I don't know. I'm not much to sit around and read something that big. On that day I might have, seeing that it was Valentine's Day and everyone was staying at the _Tortuga_ for a day off. It was the tiny scrap of paper that jutted out by just a corner from beneath the books that I noticed in my boredom. It was well hidden, had I glanced down for a second less I would have missed it. But I saw it, and it perplexed me. She'd _never_ just let paper lie around. She'd stash it in a folder, or put it into her computer, or_ something._ It was weird just to have it lying out.

So, me being the smart person that I am, I decided to read it.

"_The heart in the animal shines through once again._

_ He is powerful,_

_ Strong,_

_ And unafraid._

_ Yet he is a timid creature,_

_ Laughing and joking until he no longer has to face his_

_ Fears._

_ These fears that I have as well._

_ Fears of desertion,_

_ Rejection,_

_ Fears so common that nobody pays attention._

_ We are alike, this animal and I._

_ While he is adventurous outdoors,_

_ I am daring within my mind._

_ We both share a universal love of home,_

_ But where home may lie is unclear._

_ So we've made a home._

_ All of us as one,_

_ We've hidden through the years in a disguise of fame._

_ The animal lays with us here._

_ He's what keeps us sane,_

_ What keeps us radiant,_

_ This animal that I do quite truly love._

_ This animal that I am afraid to love._

_ This animal that I love."_

"What the _heck_ are you doing, Martin?!"

I jumped back and dropped the paper on the floor. Aviva stormed into the room, her face red with anger and…was she _blushing?_

No time to contemplate why her face was as red as it was. She snatched the poem up off of the floor and glared at me.

"What did I tell you about reading stuff off of my desk?!"

I blushed and looked down. "To not to," I said.

_"Exactly!"_ Aviva hissed. In that moment, she reminded me very much of a caracal hissing off a predator.

"Sorry," I said feebly. "It was very pretty."

Aviva looked about to make a cutting remark when she registered my words. "You…liked it?"

"Yeah," I said, happy to be on her good side again. "Very Valentine-y." I blushed and scuffed my foot at the floor. "I didn't know you could write like that."

Aviva's face went scarlet. "Oh…um…thanks. I mean…um…it was just a…um…" She smiled nervously. "Thanks."

"No problem," I said. Then I did something completely idiotic, something that I wanted to take back instantly. "Who's it about?"

I bit my tongue and cursed myself inside my head. Aviva's face went even redder than it had been before. "Um…no one. I mean, not _no one,_ but…you know…I just…um…uh…"

"It's all right. I get it," I said. I wanted to kick myself. How stupid could I be? Obviously it was a personal poem! I vowed not to ask questions like that in the future.

But she was _so_ cute when she blushed like that…and it _was_ Valentine's Day…

That's when I actually _did_ kick myself. I kicked my left foot with my right, and for a fleeting moment I lost my balance. Aviva looked straight at me, and I klutzily tripped over my own foot and fell to the ground. I heard Aviva giggle.

"You okay, monkey boy?" she said with a laugh in her voice.

"Fine," I said with an embarrassed grin. Aviva chuckled, and she reached down to grab my hand. My heart started doing jumping jacks as she pulled me upwards to a standing position.

"Thanks, 'Viva." I dusted myself off.

Aviva rolled her eyes. "You are _so_ clumsy."

"I'm aware," I said as I sat down beside the desk she stood beside. She looked around, then shrugged and sat on the desk. We were silent for a moment, and then I said to her, "Can you tell me what the poem was about? I…I'm not sure I get it."

Aviva looked at the floor, but said, "Sure. Do…you want me to…um…analyze it line-by-line for you?"

"Please, no. It'll be like listening to one of Chris's plans."

Aviva laughed quietly, then said, "Okay, I get it." She ran her fingers through her ponytail and said, "It's a love poem. You get that part, right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. So basically it's about this girl-"

"You?"

Aviva blushed. "Maybe, maybe not, who cares? Anyways, this girl is secretly in love with this guy who reminds her of an animal. But not like vicious like a tiger in heat, like a puppy, you know, all sweet and silly and clumsy. He's the one that keeps her from going insane."

"Go on," I said.

Aviva pushed her hair over her shoulder. "So, she's _really_ in love with him, but she keeps denying it. It's not like he asks, but she denies it to herself. Says that he's only a friend, you know? The guy is one of her best friends, and she doesn't want to ruin that by feeling any more for him, because she never really had a great relationship in the past." She sighs. "So she knows she loves him, but she's afraid to be in love again."

"I get it now," I said. "That's really beautiful, Aviva."

Aviva just smiled and whispered a, "Thank you, MK."

I'm still not sure why I did what I did next. Maybe it was something in the air, or maybe it was just the fact that it was Valentine's Day, or maybe it was something totally irrelevant. But that was the moment that I realized that I loved her, too. I always had. I guess Chris always knew, even before I figured it out for myself. Or maybe I'm just a "romantic idiot", like my first girlfriend told me when she broke up with me. I don't know. But that was the moment that I realized…maybe, just maybe…

So I let my romantic idiot side show and said, "The girl is kind of like you, huh?"

Aviva looked up quickly. "Um…I, uh, I guess, yeah, no, sorta, maybe,_bueno, verás__, es complicado, ya sabes, siempre he __especie de ...__pensé que eras__..."_

"Whoa, 'Viva," I said. "You're going into Spanish mode on me."

Aviva blushed. "Sorry," she said very quietly.

I smiled and gently put an arm around her. Aviva smiled softly and said, "What else do you think about it?"

I thought a little and said, "Those fears…are they because of Zach? What he did to you after you were…involved?"

Aviva was silent, but nodded.

I looked at her, incredulous that my words were true. "And I…I'm the animal?"

Aviva looked at me and a tiny grin appeared on her face. "Remember…remember the gecko?"

I nodded.

Aviva took a deep breath. "That was when I knew it was for real. You…you chose to save me instead of helping that gecko. Martin, Zach could have _killed_ that gecko. But you chose me." She pauses. "And then I knew…I was in love with you."

Without a second thought, I kissed her right on the lips.

**A/N: Well, better late than never! The Valentine's Day chapter is finally here! **

**I know most of you are probably upset that I didn't write your requests. Never fear, all of your requests are wonderful and I am definitely working on them! It may take a while, but I will somehow get them done!**

**Hope you liked this chapter! Reviews are wonderful!**


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